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Chapter 33: Speechless About the Pure-Blood Family

Lockhart looked at the young wizards below, their mouths slightly open in surprise, faint smiles on their faces. The scene just now had been carefully designed by him. First, he used a rune to absorb all the light, then cast a flashing spell to form a beam of light. Just like celebrities and singers on stage in his previous life, he used this technique to grab the attention of all the young wizards. Then, through an illusion spell, the carefully constructed scenes in his mind were projected into the dark classroom.

Trolls, vampires, werewolves, and even dark wizards—all were illusions. The original body did not have these memories; they were virtual scenes Lockhart had constructed based on his knowledge, memory, and imagination during this period. His inspiration for the battle against the dark wizard came from the movie's depiction of the seventh-year Harry Potter fighting Voldemort. It was all to highlight his own strength and elegance. His purpose was to capture the psychology of these little wizards completely.

This group of young wizards had just come into contact with magic and were in a stage of great curiosity about it. Lockhart's goal was to stimulate their interest in magic fully. As a professor, he preferred good students and naturally hoped his students would listen attentively and learn magic well. This is a basic quality of a teacher. On the other hand, Lockhart wanted to establish his persona and gain recognition from the system. Later, no matter what these young wizards learned or what magical knowledge they mastered, he could quickly acquire it.

Also, a new magic system would be born in the future world, which required the acceptance and approval of many wizards. This started with the young wizards. Therefore, he had to be careful. Maybe these little wizards would be his helpers in the future. Thinking of this, the smile on Lockhart's face became even brighter.

"Okay, today is your first Defense Against the Dark Arts class." Lockhart didn't think for long. He quickly came to his senses and said to the expectant little wizards below: "Everyone should have understood just now..."

"Now, it's time for me to get to know you. Next, I will call your names."

With that said, Lockhart picked up the roll call book in his hand, smiled at the young wizards sitting below, and said, "Whoever's name is called, please stand up and briefly introduce yourself."

"Let's start with Alice Eudora."

Alice was surprised when she heard Professor Lockhart call her name. She quickly stood up and said hurriedly: "Professor Lockhart, I am Alice Eudora from Ravenclaw House."

"Don't be anxious, Alice. Take your time. Just briefly tell us what you like, if you've mastered any magic, and what kind of magic interests you," Lockhart said comfortingly, seeing the little witch Alice a bit panicked, her face slightly red.

"Okay, Professor." Lockhart's soft voice seemed to bring great comfort to Alice. Although her voice was still childish, she quickly calmed down and introduced herself with some excitement: "Professor, I like to eat dragon's milk cheese and chocolate frogs. My mother bought me your books, and I really enjoy them. I know two spells, Lumos and the levitation spell, though I'm not very good at levitation yet. I hope to learn more powerful magic in the future and defeat the monsters we saw earlier. I especially liked the scene where you were fighting, Professor."

"Haha!" Hearing Alice's innocent words, Lockhart laughed heartily. "I also enjoy magical snacks. Dragon's milk cheese is quite delicious. I'll bring you some next time."

"As long as you study hard, I'll teach you a series of useful and interesting spells. Then you can go on adventures with your companions and fight monsters." Hearing Lockhart's promise, Alice's nervousness melted into a bright smile.

"Thank you, Professor Lockhart. By the way, my mother is also a fan of your books. She collects all of them, and I love reading them."

"Hahaha!" Lockhart laughed out loud, a bright smile on his face. He felt that little wizards were much better than the adult students he taught before. Most of his previous students only knew how to make him angry, delay projects, or make mistakes in their papers. The little Alice witch in front of him was still a child but very cute and interesting.

Lockhart motioned for Alice to sit down and called the next name.

"Dennis Fawley."

A young wizard from Slytherin House, wearing dark green robes, stood up gracefully. Lockhart noted the elegance of his posture, typical of ancient nobility, and nodded slightly. Pure-blood families were stricter in raising children than ordinary families.

"Dennis, please briefly introduce yourself." Although Lockhart had his reservations about pure-blood families, he spoke gently. After all, children are always innocent. As a professor, if you can't see through this, your life would be in vain.

Dennis Fawley stood up, recalling his father's instructions, and said in an aristocratic tone with a hint of arrogance: "Hello, Professor Lockhart. I come from one of the twenty-eight pure-blood families. I'm a Slytherin. I enjoy all kinds of powerful magic and hope to lead my family to greatness in the future. It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor Lockhart. It's an honor for us in Slytherin House to have a famous adventurer like you teaching us Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Lockhart shook his head slightly, feeling a bit speechless about the pure-blood families clinging to the same old routines. Not all little wizards were as cute as Alice. He felt a bit exasperated with these pure-blood families.

After a few simple compliments, Dennis sat down with a smile on his face. Lockhart continued calling names, slowly becoming familiar with each young wizard's name, appearance, hobbies, magic skills, and family background.

"Morton Carter."

"Betsy Murphy."

Chapter 34: The Weasley Twins Have a Tacit Understanding!

Lockhart looked at the young wizards who were still in high spirits below, with a faint smile on his face. After introducing themselves, more than half of the class time had passed. He followed the lesson plan and asked the young wizards their various doubts about Defense Against the Dark Arts, answering their questions one by one. He also incorporated his own adventure experiences, making the process of answering questions interesting, informative, and filled with real-life cases. Sometimes, when he got excited, he would wave his wand and sketch out short but wonderful pictures. The entire class had been very lively, filled with the laughter of the young wizards.

Lockhart secretly observed these young wizards' recognition of him. Most of them had scores over 40, and a group of little wizards had even reached 50. Alice, the first to introduce herself, had reached 62. This indicated that the young wizards had a good recognition of him. Some of them even respected, liked, and trusted Lockhart from the bottom of their hearts. This showed that his previous efforts were not in vain.

For first-year wizards, the most important thing is to increase their interest in magic. For them, interest is the best teacher. Once these little wizards become interested, they will spontaneously and seriously study magic. When the time comes, Lockhart will be able to pick out some good students and cultivate them carefully.

But...

Lockhart looked at the time. It was 10:56! The class was about to end. The curriculum at Hogwarts is very different from schools in his previous life. Hogwarts usually only has one major class in the morning, from 9:00 to 11:00. A large lesson can be broken down into two smaller lessons. There are two major classes in the afternoon, from 13:00 to 15:00 and 15:30 to 17:30. Sometimes, there is a class from 19:00 to 21:00 in the evening, though the frequency is generally not high. Most of the time, it's astronomy class or Quidditch training for senior students. Lockhart had initially complained about this schedule, thinking it was a bit inhumane for these little wizards to have classes at night.

Now, his first class was coming to an end. After these little wizards took a break, it would be time for lunch. Thinking of this, Lockhart said gently to the young wizards below, "It's almost time for the end of class. Finally, I'll leave you with a preview task. You must preview it carefully. I will randomly check it in the next class. If you answer the questions I ask correctly, there will be a mysterious reward."

After hearing this, the young wizards below suddenly realized that the class was about to end, and they felt quite reluctant to leave. The story Lockhart had told was very good, and it also came with pictures, almost like watching a movie. Hearing Lockhart's last words, they all nodded in agreement, curious about the professor's mysterious reward. These little wizards were extremely satisfied with their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

Lockhart noticed that in the afternoon, they had Potions class with Snape from 15:30 to 17:30. He estimated that after that class, they might miss his class even more. As the bell rang and Lockhart finished giving the homework, he waved his wand, and all the young wizards walked out of the classroom. Lockhart also prepared to return to his office.

He still needed to prepare some more. According to the curriculum, there was a fourth-year Defense Against the Dark Arts class in the afternoon. If he remembered correctly, the Weasley twins, who had been caught by him and sent to Snape the previous night, were in this class.

In the afternoon, Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, there was no class yet, but wizards from Gryffindor and Slytherin had already arrived. George and Fred were sitting in the back row, wearing identical robes, with the same red hair, the same freckles, and the same face. It was almost impossible to tell who was George and who was Fred.

At this time, the two were sitting in the back, whispering. "George, did you hear that? Professor Lockhart's lectures are very interesting."

"I know, Fred. He's very good in class."

"Really? But he captured us yesterday."

"You're right, George. Did you bring some quick-acting candy this time?"

"I brought it, but I only have one."

"Me too."

"Do you know when to use it?"

"I know."

With that said, the identical Weasley twins looked at each other and laughed. Dillon Myron, sitting in front of them and also a Gryffindor, turned to look at George and Fred, who were laughing. Immediately, he took out the textbook and placed it on the table. Looking at Lockhart moving on the cover, a look of anticipation rose on his face. He had been a fan of Lockhart's books before, and when he heard that Lockhart was coming to teach at Hogwarts, he was almost crazy with joy. At noon, many young wizards were praising their idol Lockhart, making him look forward to it even more.

As the bell rang quietly, the wizards of Gryffindor and Slytherin looked expectantly. They had all heard about the scene where the first-year wizards encountered darkness and special effects. They waited and waited, but nothing seemed to change. The only change was Professor Lockhart coming in through the door, followed by a thick stack of test papers floating in the air.

Although Lockhart kept a gentle smile on his face, all the young wizards suddenly felt uneasy, especially George and Fred, who were sitting in the back row. They looked at each other, sensing that Professor Lockhart had looked at them just now. Coupled with the dozen thick test papers floating in the air, a bad premonition arose in their hearts. They knew each other well and took out a piece of two-colored chewing gum from their back pockets, one end orange and the other dark purple. They quickly ate the gum, then stood up and shouted:

"Professor Lockhart, I'm sorry, I feel sick in my stomach."

Chapter 35: Lockhart Was Forced to Kill the Chicken to Scare the Monkeys!

Lockhart entered the classroom with the test papers he had prepared, looking at the eager faces of the young wizards present. A smile played on the corner of his mouth as he read their expectant eyes, knowing exactly what these young wizards were thinking.

Wizards of different ages naturally receive different levels of treatment. First and second-year wizards have just started school, and some of them don't even have a clear understanding of magic, so it's very important to arouse their interest in magic. His special effects blockbuster was specially prepared for first-year wizards. He didn't even prepare it for second-year wizards, let alone these fourth-year wizards. For this group of young wizards who have been attending school for three years, their understanding and attitude towards magic have become solidified. Therefore, the most important thing is knowledge learning. He carefully prepared a test paper, covering all the knowledge points they had studied and mastered before.

Before class, he needed to make a rough estimate. Although he knew these young wizards had a poor foundation in Defense Against the Dark Arts, there were different levels, and he needed to measure how weak they really were. Based on their actual level, he would determine their learning intensity. While he didn't quite agree with the cramming learning method from his previous life, he had to admit that it was very effective. It was undoubtedly the best choice for the current environment. They would take the OWL exams next year. If they didn't prepare now, they would be setting themselves up for failure.

To be honest, the fifth years were in the worst position, with the fourth years slightly better off. The fifth years were about to face the O.W.L. exams, which directly determined whether they could participate in the subsequent N.E.W.T. courses, get certificates, and graduate successfully. To compare, the O.W.L. exam is equivalent to the high school entrance exam in his previous life. If they failed, they would have to retake it for a year.

Lockhart was fairly responsible when it came to student performance. As a university professor in his previous life, he had strict requirements on the academic performance of his college students, unlike other teachers who might have been more lenient. This rigor stemmed from his pursuit of excellence in research, which also influenced his thinking and requirements in all aspects.

But as he just stepped onto the stage, suddenly, two identical voices sounded one after another below.

"Professor Lockhart, I'm sorry, I feel sick in my stomach."

Lockhart stared at the source of the sound, his mouth twitching slightly. It was the Weasley twins he had sacrificed to Snape before. The twins looked pale, bent over, holding their stomachs, looking as if they were about to vomit. He shook his head helplessly. He had already anticipated possible scenarios when facing these pranksters in his class. He just didn't expect them to try to skip class on his first day.

Did this mean they didn't take him seriously? Lockhart looked indifferent and stared at the two of them without saying a word. After a while, until he saw that they seemed to be reaching their limit, he spoke calmly, with a hint of seriousness in his tone.

"George Weasley, Fred Weasley. As your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, I can solve this minor problem without you going to the infirmary." As he spoke, he waved his wand: "Wingardium Leviosa!"

A floating spell controlled the two to fly in front of him. Then, Lockhart slightly controlled the Sling Ring on his right hand to draw a circle. Instantly, a crimson ring appeared in the space, and a large number of crimson threads and runes materialized in the ring.

"Rune - Purification!" The crimson ring, under Lockhart's control, quickly enveloped the two of them, passing through their bodies as if scanning and cleaning them.

Soon, George and Fred looked at each other with awkward smiles on their faces. They found that the vomiting effect of the quick-acting skipping candy had completely disappeared. Silently looking at Professor Lockhart with a serious face, they had no choice but to show innocent smiles and thank him in unison: "Thank you, Professor Lockhart, our stomachs are no longer upset, and we can go back to class." With that, they turned around and started to head back to their seats.

But as they were walking, Lockhart's faint voice reached their ears. "Twenty points from Gryffindor. George, Fred. In three days, each of you will hand me a paper. The topic is 'On the Importance of Classes' or 'How to Avoid Skipping Classes.' You can choose whichever you want." As soon as Lockhart finished speaking, the two of them returned to their seats with their heads drooping.

The young wizards around them laughed out loud, knowing quite well the reason for their sudden illness. They were even the buyers of the candies. This made the twins' bad mood even worse. Hearing Lockhart's words, they realized all their tricks had been seen through. They thought to themselves, how impressive Professor Lockhart is.

Standing on the podium, Lockhart felt amused seeing the dejected George and Fred. He hadn't even planned to make an example of them, but a perfect opportunity had presented itself. If he didn't seize it, he would feel guilty for not making the most of their antics.

"Cough! Cough!" As Lockhart coughed lightly, the laughter in the classroom suddenly stopped. Lockhart nodded with satisfaction at the scene before him. The effect of the punishment had been quite good. Feeling the gazes of the young wizards, Lockhart began to speak seriously.

"I am Gilderoy Lockhart, your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. In my class, you will understand the real dangers of dark magic, and at the same time, you will also understand the preciousness of life. Through the curriculum, you will develop the ability to recognize danger and, when danger comes, the ability to protect yourself and your family."

Having said this, Lockhart looked at the serious expressions on the young wizards' faces and chuckled. "The prerequisite for everything is that you listen carefully to the lectures and complete the assignments I give you with your heart. Okay, let's start with the roll call."

Then, Lockhart picked up the roll call and began calling the names with a faint smile on his face. Accompanied by the shouts of "here" one after another, he quickly scanned their faces, matching names to appearances.